Investing.com - The dollar turned lower against the other major currencies on Thursday after Federal Reserve minutes indicated that U.S. interest rates could still rise next month, while the yen gained after the Bank of Japan kept monetary policy unchanged.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, slid 0.18% to 99.48, easing back from Wednesday’s highs of 99.96, the strongest since April 14.
The drop in the dollar came as investors took profits following the greenback’s rally to seven-month highs.
The minutes of the Fed’s October meeting showed that most officials believe the conditions for raising interest rates could be met by its December meeting.
The U.S. central bank kept rates on hold at its October meeting, but sent a strong signal that it may hike rates next month and downplayed concerns over the impact of slowing global growth on the U.S. economy.
The yen extended gains after the BoJ kept its monetary policy unchanged on Thursday, despite data on Monday showing that Japan’s economy slid into recession in the third quarter.
The central bank reiterated its pledge to increase the purchase of Japanese government bonds at an annual pace of ¥80 trillion.
USD/JPY hit lows of 123.10 and was last at 123.32, off 0.25% for the day.
The euro edged higher, with EUR/USD edging up 0.12% to 1.0674, but remained close to the seven-month trough of 1.0616 set on Wednesday.
The single currency continued to be pressured lower by the diverging monetary policy outlook between the Fed and the European Central Bank.
The ECB is expected to expand its quantitative easing program and possibly cut rates further into negative territory at its December meeting.
The euro also remained under pressure amid concerns that the terrorist attacks in Paris could undermine the already fragile economic recovery in the region.